As reported by the Associated Press, the 2008 marriage between an 8 year-old Saudi girl and her 50 year-old husband can now end in divorce.

The marriage, which was brought about when the girl’s father betrothed her to a husband 42-years her elder, captured international attention when the girl’s mother petitioned the Saudi courts to grant a divorce on the basis of age gap and lack of bridal consent; a request that was denied. The parties then entered into private divorce negotiations, which led to a recent $13,000 out-of-court settlement. 

Details of the settlement remain murky. It’s unclear when the divorce will actually take place, or whether the $13,000 price tag represents financial compensation for the groom, or simply the return of his original marriage gift (which was valued at about $13,000). 

Less murky, however, is the fact that this marriage and its subsequent dissolution process has sparked widespread debate, and captured impassioned attention, inside and beyond Saudi Arabia's borders. 

Check out these interesting and informative World Divorce News articles:    British study: unemployment increases divorce Indian couple divorced after 50 years apart

Critics argue that child marriages are a violation of human rights, regardless of whether the child involved agrees to the union. On this latter point, rights groups within Saudi Arabia allege that marriage officials routinely fail to ensure bridal consent – which is required by law – and so even many seemingly “legal” child marriages may not be authorized in the first place.    

Countering these criticism are Saudi Arabia's conservative Muslim clergy, who view any rejection of child marriages as an injustice to the girls themselves. 

The turning point for this debate, however, may not rest with rights critics or clergy, but with government. In April, the Saudi Justice Minister announced that a study was taking place to examine child (or “underage”) marriage, and that the study may lead to new regulations. Just what these regulations may or may not be remains – like many aspects of this situation -- unclear. It’s possible, however, that new laws may provide a minimum marrying age.  

This much, at least, is clear: this marriage and its 42-year age gap may be (essentially) over, but the next level of debate on the issue of child marriage in Saudi Arabia is just getting started.

Tuesday, May 15
at 8 pm to 8:30 EST
Out With the Tragedy: Turning Divorce into a meaningful experience
with Allison Pescosolido and Andra Brosh, founders of Divorce Detox
Learn More

Listen to podcasts of previous TeleSeminars.